The low carbohydrate diet craze, which is essentially a high ­fat, high-protein, low-carbohydrate diet, is a component of practically every diet book that has been on the market for the past ten years. The first question that comes to mind is, “Then, how do people lose weight on these low-carbohydrate, high-fat diets?” For example, most of the diets say that you can have bacon and eggs for breakfast, hot dogs for lunch, and a juicy steak for dinner. Sounds tempting, doesn’t it? They also tell you that you can’t have any, or, at the very least, minimal amounts of carbohydrates with each meal; for instance, no vegetables, fruits, cereals, breads, potatoes, pasta, etc. Sounds unappetizing and unhealthy, doesn’t it? It certainly is.

The simple fact is that you do lose weight initially on these very low-carbohydrate, high-fat, high-protein diets; however, most of the initial weight-loss is water weight-loss, due to a metabolic process called ketosis, which, in fact, is a condition found in unhealthy people (for example, those with diabetes and kidney disease), and not in healthy people. Once the body gets rid of this water, it starts burning fat, which is left over - which, in itself, is a good thing; however, the downside is that this abnormal process of ketosis also begins to bum the body’s protein (muscle tissue). This actually is a very bad thing. By attempting to burn protein as a source of fuel for energy, the body is actually breaking down one of the most important elements in the body that is used to sustain life (building and repairing the body’s tissues, cells, and organs).

The fact that a substance called ketones appears in your urine (a by-product of this abnormal process called ketosis) shows you clear evidence that your body is breaking down its muscle tissue. This is one of the reasons that fatigue and general weakness have been reported as early side effects of this completely unhealthy diet.

Also, kidney and liver damage may result if too much of the body’s protein is broken down in these unhealthy, low-carbohydrate diets.

In ketosis, fatty acids are broken down to form ketones and acetones, which the body can then use as fuel. Unfortunately, this results in the loss of sodium and potassium from the body, which are vital minerals essential for health. Even levels of thyroid hormone decrease and your metabolism slows down to conserve energy, which, in turn, slows the process of weight-loss: During this process of ketosis, the blood cholesterol goes up, which, in itself, is a dangerous condition.

While the body is breaking down fat to form ketones for energy, it must consume some of its muscle tissue (protein) to meet the energy needs of the brain and nervous system. Since the brain and nervous system use approximately two-thirds of the glucose present in the body, ketones cannot replace glucose for many of the brain’s functions. This, in turn, can affect the brain adversely, since protein must be broken down to form amino acids, which can then be converted to glucose. If this is not done in a timely fashion, then the brain’s blood supply of glucose is limited, resulting in temporary and/or permanent neurological damage.

As you can see, this is a dangerous way to diet and is not a healthy type of diet to remain on for any period of time. In addition, once this diet is stopped, rapid weight gain resumes, since the body has been depleted of carbohydrates, water and nutrients. The hunger center (appestat) in the brain increases your appetite, and you usually begin to consume massive quantities of carbohydrates to alleviate the adverse effects of this diet.

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